El Paso Locomotive FC (12-12-7, 43 points, West-5) earned the road win against LA Galaxy II as they push towards a fourth consecutive playoff appearance. El Paso came out strong from the opening whistle, finding their first goal of the night in the opening minutes of the match. The attacking prowess on display earned Locomotive the 3-2 victory as they head into the final stretches of the regular season.
In the 5 minute of the match Midfielder Ricardo Zacarias fought for a loose ball in LA’s defensive half and came up with it as he moved towards goal. Moving into the 18-yard box he found Forward Lucho Solignac with a precise pass off the outside of his right foot. Solignac took a few touches towards the near post before sending it across the face of the opposing goal where Midfielder Dylan Mares was primed to put it away.
Solignac would find one of his own 16 minutes later to double the lead. Zacarias received a perfectly weighted through ball from Mares and found himself in a one-on-one scenario. Zacarias pulled the Galaxy II defenders away from an unseen Solignac who was making a run in behind the attack. After creating space, Zacarias assisted Solignac with a textbook backheel pass and the Argentine striker notched his 14 goal of the season in clinical fashion.
After conceding a penalty in the 58 minute Locomotive found the game winner in the 60 minute of play with a highlight reel finish from Midfielder Eric Calvillo. The build up play leading to the goal began in the back with Goalkeeper Evan Newton. Before it found the back of the LA net it would touch the feet of seven different Locomotive players. Defender Eder Borelli made the overlapping run and received the pass from Forward Aaron Gomez near the LA end line and with his first touch sent it curling towards the middle of the 18-yard box. Calvillo dashed in to meet it in midair and found the bottom corner on the far post.
Locomotive close the regular season with back-to-back home matches on October 5 against Colorado Springs and on October 8 against Orange County SC.
UP NEXT: El Paso Locomotive travels to Florida to face Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday September 28, with kickoff slated for 6:00 p.m.
Match: El Paso Locomotive v LA Galaxy II
Date: September 18, 2022
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park; Carson, CA
Weather: 73F clear
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
El Paso Locomotive 2 1 3
LA Galaxy II 0 2 2
ELP –Dylan Mares (Lucho Solignac), 5’
ELP – Lucho Solignac (Ricardo Zacarias), 21’
ELP – Eric Calvillo (Eder Borelli), 60’
Lineup:
El Paso Locomotive FC (4-3-3): Evan Newton; Eder Borelli, Andrew Fox, Yuma, Liam Rose, Richie Ryan, Eric Calvillo (Egiluz, 80’), Dylan Mares (Bahner, 90’), Aaron Gomez (Garcia, 90’), Ricardo Zacarias (Hinds, 70’), Lucho Solignac
Subs not used: Phillip Beigl, Diego Abarca, Christiano Francois.
Stats Summary: ELP | LA
Shots: 10 | 12
Shots on Goal: 6 | 3
Saves: 1 | 3
Corner Kicks: 3 | 7
Fouls: 15 | 6
Offside: 0 | 2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
ELP – Zacarias (Caution), 63’
ELP – Gomez (Caution), 72’
ELP – Calvillo (Caution), 79’
ELP – Egiluz (Caution), 84’
ELP – Mares (Caution), 89’
LA – UNDEFINED (Caution), 90+’